A jobless German has been handed a five-month suspended jail term for stealing a buffet for 60 people and eating it with friends, authorities say.

Using a false name, the 46-year-old from the western city of Dortmund ordered more than $A6,200 feast to be sent to the clubhouse of a garden allotment colony.

Shortly after the caterers delivered the food, he called the company to say they had made a mistake and he would return the order.

As puzzled clubhouse guests looked on, he loaded the buffet into his car and sped off.

The food was never seen again but the man was recognised one day by one of the clubhouse guests who told the police, the presiding judge at the court in Dortmund says.

"The man said he wanted to treat his friends to something special," Judge Gerhard Breuer said.

"I told him his story would make a good movie."

As well as receiving a suspended jail term, the court ruled the man must repay his debt to the caterer.

- Reuters